


Hit and Run

by mulderette



Category: NCIS: Los Angeles
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-06-16 15:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15440508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mulderette/pseuds/mulderette
Summary: Members of the team take turns taking care of Callen after he is injured in a hit and run.





	1. Chapter 1

"I guess this was a wild goose chase," Deeks said as he, Callen, Kensi and Sam headed back to their cars. They had thoroughly investigated the building only to find nothing. The tip they had received had been without merit.

"Got to admit, it's kind of nice not to actually get shot at for a change," Sam said.

"I still wonder what the point was of luring us out there," Callen said as he walked over to the Challenger and began to remove his body armor.

"We still meeting at O'Sullivan's for lunch?" Deeks asked as he and Kensi started to walk towards their own vehicle. "I am going to get the lucky shamrock burger. I've been thinking about it all day."

Sam nodded as he placed his weapon in the trunk of his car. "That's the plan. We'll see you there."

Deeks was in the process of undoing his body armor when he caught sight of a vehicle moving at a high rate of speed out of the corner of his eye. His eyes widened in shock as he realized the driver of the car was making a deliberate beeline in Callen's direction. "Callen! Callen get out of there!" he screamed.

Callen turned just in time to see the vehicle's approach but not fast enough to do much about it. He tried to jump up out of the way, but was unsuccessful as the vehicle slammed into him, momentarily pinning him against the Challenger before the car backed up and sped away as Callen crumpled to the ground. Kensi quickly committed the car make, model and license plate number to memory while Deeks put a call in to Ops to get an ambulance. Sam was at his partner's side almost immediately. "G? Hey buddy can you hear me?"

Callen, white-faced and obviously in a good amount of pain, nodded. "Yeah…I hear you, Sam."

"Where are you hurt?" Sam asked, mentally noting the abnormal positioning of Callen's right leg.

"My leg," Callen said as he struggled to sit up.

"Whoa…Just lie still buddy," Sam said, gently putting his hand on Callen's chest to discourage him from trying to sit. "Ambulance will be here soon."

"How is he?" Kensi asked as she and Deeks came over to the other set of partners.

"His leg is broken," Sam said.

Deeks looked at Callen's leg and cringed. "Yeah…I think you're right about that."

"Deeks? Can you get a blanket from my trunk?" Sam asked, noting that Callen was visibly shivering.

Deeks nodded and immediately did as Sam requested, then handed him the blanket.

"Thanks Deeks," Sam said as he gently placed it over his partner's prone body. Just then he heard the sound of approaching sirens and breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't worry, G. You're going to be feeling better really soon."

xxxxx

Hetty met the team at the hospital, a look of concern on her face as she walked into the waiting room. "How is he?" she asked.

"He has a pretty badly broken leg," Sam explained. "They've brought him into surgery."

Hetty sighed heavily. "I don't understand…What happened?"

"The driver just sped right into him," Deeks said, his blue eyes filled with guilt. "I…I didn't warn him in time."

"It wasn't your fault," Deeks," Kensi said, taking his hand and squeezing it. "It all happened so fast. None of us even knew what was happening."

"Kensi's right, Deeks," Sam said, nodding in agreement. "There was nothing you could have done."

"Even so," Deeks said, shaking his head helplessly as he stared down at the floor.

"Mr. Deeks, please listen to your teammates," Hetty said to him. "The only one at fault here is the driver. Based on Ms. Blye's information, hopefully Eric and Nell will be able to track him down quickly."

Deeks nodded and the team settled down to wait for word on their stricken team leader.

xxxxx

Callen burrowed under the blankets a little more deeply as he slowly started to awaken. He'd awoken in Recovery, but had quickly fallen back to sleep again. This time, when he opened his eyes, he saw Hetty and Sam sitting beside his bed. "Hey," he said, still appearing very drowsy.

"Mr. Callen," Hetty said, as she gently patted his hand. "You really need to stop doing these things to yourself."

"Don't think it was my fault, Hetty," Callen said.

"You're right, G. It wasn't your fault." Sam was quick to reassure his friend.

Deeks sighed softly from his seat behind Sam and Hetty and Kensi gave him a meaningful look. "Stop," she whispered.

"So…" Callen looked at his partner, eyes filled with worry. "How…how bad is this?"

"Sorry G, you've got a long recovery ahead of you. You're looking at 8-12 weeks, best case scenario."

"Damn," Callen said, already frustrated at the thought of it.

"Don't get down, Mr. Callen," Hetty said quietly. "It could have been worse…much worse… In any case, you have different options available to you once you've begun to recover a bit."

"Hetty's right, Callen," Kensi said as she walked over to him. "I'm sure this guy wanted to do a lot worse to you then break your leg. He wanted to kill you. Just be grateful he didn't succeed. I know I am."

"Thanks, Kens," Callen replied, giving her a faint smile.

"I'm glad too," Deeks said. He wanted to say more, but he couldn't find the words, especially with all the others in the room. He'd have to wait until he had a chance to speak to Callen alone.

xxxxx

"So, do you have family support at home?" the case worker asked Callen the following day. "You're going to need help, at least for the first week or so."

Callen glanced at Sam and Hetty who were seated beside him and nodded. He knew there was no getting out of this place without accepting help. "Yeah, don't worry. I'll have plenty of help."

"He will indeed," Hetty said with a smile. "There will be no worries on that front."

"Good," the case worker said as she made some notations on her clipboard then got to her feet. "I'll notify Dr. Angelo that you're cleared for discharge and he will likely let you go tomorrow morning."

"Great," Callen said unenthusiastically as she left the room. He then sighed heavily.

"What's the matter, G?" Sam asked. "Usually you're chomping at the bit to escape the hospital."

"Isn't it obvious, Mr. Hanna?" Hetty asked after giving Callen a sympathetic look. "He's usually much more independent under such circumstances. This time, he actually is going to have to depend on our help."

"So how are we doing this?" Sam asked. "Where should he stay?"

Callen didn't even bother to give any input. He knew whatever decisions Hetty had made were going to stand no matter what he said.

"I actually think he's going to be most comfortable in his own home," Hetty answered.

Callen gave Hetty a surprised look and she smiled fondly at him. "Don't look so surprised, Mr. Callen. I'm not entirely unreasonable. Your home has only a couple of stairs at the entrance and it doesn't have anything underfoot to impede your path. I've already spoke with the team and you they will each take shifts over the following week and see how it goes. Now that you have finally decided to join the rest of the world and acquire some furniture, it should work out most nicely. I've gotten a shower chair and a few other things he may need so it should be a relatively smooth transition." She turned her eyes toward Sam. "God knows he would kill himself if he tried to get on and off your boat."

Callen smirked and Sam looked back at Hetty. "Yeah well…I wasn't taking this kind of thing into consideration when I decided to buy it. I will, however, bring him home tomorrow and take the first shift."

"Good, good," Hetty nodded approvingly. "You're the best choice to bring him home as well as bring him to appointments, at least at the beginning."

"Anything I can do," Sam said solemnly, meeting his partner's gaze who gave him a grateful nod. That was one thing he knew for sure. He'd always be there for Callen, no matter what he needed.

xxxxx

"You good?" Sam asked as Callen slowly made his way to the front door. He was obviously laboring with the use of the crutches. "Not as easy as they look are they?"

"Never thought they looked easy," Callen said. Sam kept his hand on Callen's back as he cautiously made his way up the two steps outside the entranceway. Then Sam unlocked the front door and stood aside so Callen could enter the house first.

"Bedroom?" Sam asked.

Callen quickly shook his head. "Couch." He breathlessly made his way into the living room and plopped down on the couch, relieved that he had made it there without mishap.

Sam immediately went to his friend's aid, pulling up a round leather ottoman to where Callen was sitting and putting his leg on top of it. "New ottoman?"

Callen nodded. "Hetty must have gotten it."

"She really takes care of you, G," Sam said, smiling.

"Yeah, I know," Callen agreed. Sometimes he found it annoying, but in his present circumstances he could only find himself grateful.

"You hungry?" Sam asked. "What do you have to eat? I could make us something."

Callen shrugged. "You tell me, Sam. I'm sure Hetty stocked my kitchen will all kinds of things I don't know about it.

"Okay, sit tight," Sam said. I'll go take a look."

Sam went into his partner's kitchen and as G had said, the refrigerator was well stocked with various fresh meats and deli meats, fruits and vegetables. There were also a lot of freshly made meals in the freezer. Sam had a feeling Callen would be very well taken care of while he was recuperating. He went back into the living room to ask what his friend felt like eating and found that he was fast asleep. Sam got the throw from the top of the couch and gently covered G with it then went back into the kitchen to make them a nice lunch for whenever his partner awoke.

xxxxx

"G, will you just take a damn pain killer?" Sam snarled. Callen had awoken in a foul mood, in pain and generally miserable, refusing food, refusing help, generally just being a pain in the ass.

"Who said I was in pain?" Callen asked stubbornly.

"I'd have to be a moron not to notice," Sam retorted. "I can tell just by looking at your face, plus by the fact that you're acting worse than either of my kids did when they were having their worst days as toddlers."

"I…" Callen actually had no comeback for that, especially when he knew Sam was right. "I'm sorry, Sam. I'll take one."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief as he went into the kitchen and pulled a cold bottle of water out of the refrigerator and returned with a pill and the bottle when he handed to his partner. Callen immediately put the pill into his mouth and took a few swallows of water to wash it down. "Thanks, Sam."

Sam nodded as he looked at his partner thoughtfully. "I know this is tough for you, G…but you really need to just let us take care of you. As stubborn as you and I know you are, you can't do it yourself this time, no matter how much you may want to. If you want to go fooling around against your doctor's orders, you're only going to impede your recovery and be laid up even longer. I don't think you want that."

Sam's tone was gentle but his eyes were serious as he spoke and Callen knew he wasn't fooling around. "I know you're right, Sam," Callen said softly. "I just…this really sucks."

"I know it does, G, but there's no way to fast forward through it. You just have to get through this the best way that you can."

xxxxx

The rest of the day and night went by relatively uneventfully. The two men watched the Clippers game on t.v. and Callen tried hard to be a model patient. The next morning Sam woke up early and made some bacon, eggs and toast and the two were eating breakfast when the doorbell rang.

"That will be your relief," Callen said grinning at his partner.

"I wonder who it is," Sam asked, inwardly hoping it wasn't Nell. Not that he could imagine Callen giving her a hard time but you just never knew. He went to the front door and opened it to see Hetty on the other side. "Ah… good morning, Hetty." He smiled at the older woman, knowing full well Callen wasn't going to pull anything on her.

"Good morning, Mr. Hanna." Hetty returned Sam's smile as she stepped inside. "How is our patient doing?"

"He's in a good mood so far," Sam stated.

Hetty gave him a speculative look. "Am I correct in thinking that wasn't the case yesterday?"

Sam shrugged. "This is hard for him, Hetty. Even when he's been recuperating in the past, he never was limited like this. Hell, now he couldn't escape even if he wanted to."

"Lots of people go through such things though," Hetty said. "Some undergo them permanently."

"I know," Sam said with a nod. "I don't know if it helps him to hear stuff like that though. He's kind of caught up in his own head."

They walked out into the kitchen and Hetty greeted Callen. "Good morning, Mr. Callen. How are you doing on this fine Sunday morning?"

"I'm good, Hetty. How are you?" Callen asked. He'd kind of been hoping for Kensi or Deeks today but he should have known Hetty would be next. "You taking off?" Callen asked Sam.

"Yeah. Work tomorrow. Gotta do laundry and stuff." He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for his partner. Callen looked like an abandoned puppy. "You'll be fine, G," he said smiling. "You know where to reach me if you want to talk. I'll try to get out to see you during the week. In any case, I'll be here on Friday for your ortho appointment."

"Don't worry about your partner. He'll ll be fine. Run along Mr. Hanna. Mr. Callen is in very good hands."

"See ya, G," Sam said.

"Bye, Sam…thanks for everything." Callen watched as Sam headed out and then turned to Hetty.

"So Mr. Callen," Hetty said as she took a seat at the kitchen table while he finished his breakfast. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm good," Callen said, no longer particularly hungry, but deciding not eating would likely bring about circumstances he might not like. He quickly ate the rest of his breakfast as Hetty quietly watched him.

"So…what's on the agenda for today? Perhaps a shower?"

Callen quickly shook his head. "I think I'll wait for Deeks or Eric to be here for that. I um…I might need some help."

Hetty just nodded. "Okay then, let me wash these breakfast dishes and we'll figure something out." She cleared the table, then brought the dishes to the sink and proceeded to quickly wash and dry them.

"By the way, Hetty," Callen said as he quietly watched her. "Thank you for all the food and the ottoman."

"You're very welcome," Hetty said, turning to smile at him. "I want things to be as easy as possible for you while you're recovering."

"Well, they definitely help," Callen said.

"That's good to hear," Hetty said as she dried the last dish and turned her attention back to him. "Now, where would you like to go?"

"I guess the living room," he said with a shrug. He'd been spending most of his time there. It was where his laptop and the television were, which provided the most distraction for him.

"Alright, is there anything I can do for you?" Hetty asked.

"No, I'm good," Callen said. The house wasn't all that big and he was getting better at maneuvering about the space. He reached for his crutches and made his way from the kitchen to the living room relatively easily. He then sat down, lifted his leg onto the ottoman and made himself as comfortable as he could.

They started to watch a movie on t.v. but Callen quickly got bored and fell asleep. Hetty watched him with a faint smile on her face. If anything, her boy would be catching up on years' worth of lost sleep, at least in the beginning stages of his recuperation.

xxxxx

As Hetty had suspected, Callen had been a model patient for her throughout the day, taking his meds as instructed and not voicing any complaints at all. She almost wished he would complain about something, but she knew she had him too well trained for that. She could tell he was bored though and wished she could think of a way to entertain him. Nothing really came to mind though. She hoped his teammates would be more successful during the week.

At about 5:30 in the afternoon, Callen awoke to a familiar, delicious scent permeating the house. "Pot roast?" he asked Hetty who was sitting on a chair in his living room reading.

"I know it's one of your favorites," Hetty said, smiling at him.

"Comfort food," he said, returning her smile.

"Well, I'd say you're in need of a bit of comforting, wouldn't you?" Hetty asked. "It will be ready in another hour. Do you need anything?"

Callen shook his head. "No thanks, Hetty. I'm good."

"I know you're bored," Hetty said, "but I think things may be a bit better for you tomorrow."

"Yeah?" Callen looked at her with interest. "Who is going to be here tomorrow, Deeks?"

Hetty chuckled. "You'll just have to wait and see."

xxxxx

The next morning, Callen was still asleep when his next guest arrived. Hetty had been watching out the front window so as to avoid the ringing of the doorbell which she knew would awaken him. "Good morning, Mr. Beale," Hetty said, opening the door as he arrived.

"Good morning, Hetty," Eric said, looking a bit nervous. "Are you that eager to escape?" He'd never spent this much time alone with Callen before and was not sure what to expect.

Hetty chuckled. "Don't be silly. Mr. Callen is still sleeping. I didn't want the doorbell to wake him." She looked at the bags in Eric's arms approvingly. "Good, good. I see you brought what we discussed."

"I hope you're right about it," Eric said, appearing doubtful.

"I'm quite sure that I am," Hetty said, assuring him. "I will now leave Mr. Callen in your capable hands."


	2. Chapter 2

Callen awoke at a little after nine. He sat up in bed and stretched, wondering who was going to babysit him today. He had to admit that he needed some help but it still made him feel like a little kid who needed to be watched every minute. In any case, he was curious if Hetty was still there or if someone new had arrived. He maneuvered himself so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, grabbed his crutches and carefully stood up. After he had balanced himself, he made his way out into the living room.

"Hey Callen," Eric looked up from his seat on the couch and gave Callen a friendly smile. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm good," Callen said as he crutched over to the couch and sat down heavily beside Eric. He was still surprised at how tiring everything was for him. He then rested his leg on the ottoman and made himself as comfortable as he could.

"Are you hungry? I brought coffee and donuts. I know that's not the most nutritious choice," Eric said, looking apologetic. "It's no trouble for me to make you something though. I can make you eggs or French toast, anything you'd like really."

"Relax, Eric. Donuts and coffee are perfect," Callen said.

"Great. I'll go get them. They're in the kitchen." Eric jumped up off the couch and Callen couldn't help but compare him to an overactive puppy. While Eric was out of the room, Callen's eyes caught sight of what appeared to be some kind of game system by the television set. There were also two controllers.

"So what's with the gaming system?" Callen asked Eric when he returned to the living room and handed Callen a cup of coffee.

"Oh...It's a Playstation 4. I...I didn't know if you might want to play." Eric placed the donut box next to Callen on the couch and sat down. "I mean, obviously it's only if you want to. You already know that, of course. You can do what you want. I mean, I couldn't make you do anything even if you do have a broken leg, not that I would..."

Callen gave Eric an amused glance as the younger man nervously babbled on. "Calm down, Eric. Why are you so nervous? What do you think I'm going to do to you? You said it yourself, I have a broken leg."

Eric stopped talking and glanced back at Callen. "I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "Nothing?"

"Exactly," Callen said as he opened the donut box to find a dozen of assorted treats. "These look great." He picked out a jelly donut and took a big bite out of it, keeping a napkin underneath so as not to get the white powdery coating everywhere. "Mmm...delicious. Have one, Eric. They're really good."

Eric took a donut out of the box and began eating it. Once he did so, he appeared visibly calmer much to Callen's relief. "So…" Eric began after he had finished the first donut and was partly through another. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a shower and I think I may need some help with that," Callen replied.

"Sure, that's no problem, Callen." Eric was actually relieved that there was something he could do that made him feel useful.

"Thanks, Eric." Callen smiled as he took a bite of his second donut. "After we finish breakfast we can do that and afterwards maybe you can show me what this game system of yours can do."

xxxxxx

"Wow Callen, you're kicking ass with this game," Eric was more than a little bit impressed as he watched Callen expertly making his way through  _Call of Duty World War II_.

"I've got to say, this game is awesome." Callen had quickly gotten the hang of the first person shooting game and was finding the time was passing quickly as he played it.

"It's almost 2. We should probably have some lunch." Eric didn't want Hetty finding out he hadn't taken proper care of Callen during his shift. Not that Callen would want to be taken care of, but Hetty had made it clear that was the team's so-called mission during the week. Operation Taking Care of Callen, at least that's what Eric called it inside his own head.

"Okay, what do you want?" Callen asked, his eyes lighting up as he hit another target.

"You decide," Eric replied with a shrug.

"Pizza?" Callen asked. "There's money on the counter in the kitchen. Get whatever you want."

"You don't have to pay for it," Eric objected.

"It's fine, Eric," Callen said, grinning as he made his way through a particularly difficult part of the game successfully. "I can't imagine this babysitting assignment is anyone's idea of a good time."

"We're not babysitting. We're just helping you out. Everyone needs help sometimes."

"I guess…" Callen said, not really looking like he believed it.

Eric knew that neither of them wanted to get into any kind of in-depth conversation so he changed the subject. "What kind of pizza do you want?"

"Pepperoni."

"Okay. I'll go order it."

xxxxx

The rest of the day went by quickly thanks to the game. Callen really had no time at all to be bored. That evening, Eric heated up one of the pre-made frozen dinners and the two men ate in companionable silence. After dinner, they decided to watch some television. "You should probably pack up the game," Callen said, sleepily. "I won't be playing it anymore tonight.

"I thought I'd leave it here for you while you recuperate," Eric said.

Callen's eyes lit up momentarily but then he shook his head. "Thanks, Eric, I appreciate it but you should take it. I know you play these games pretty regularly."

Eric grinned at Callen. "Come on, Callen. Surely you don't think this is my only game system? Don't worry about me. I'll be able to keep up with my gaming just fine. Keep this until you're better. Who knows, maybe you'll end up buying your own one of these days."

Callen was about to deny what Eric said, but when he really thought about it he realized it might be a different way to destress after tough cases. Nothing he was sure about, but it might be worth thinking about. Stranger things happened.

xxxxx

The next morning, Callen and Eric were both up early to play a quick video game before Eric's relief came. "Any idea who's coming today?" Callen asked, frowning as he missed a target.

Eric shook his head, barely managing to hold back a smile. It was good to see that Callen wasn't always the game master he had appeared to be the previous day. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Callen nodded. Not that it really mattered. He had to admit that having his teammates with him had made the week go by a lot more easily than if he had been on his own. After they had been playing for about a half hour, the doorbell rang. Eric immediately got to his feet and went to the front door. He opened it to see Kensi. She was carrying some kind of a plastic food container and had a brown khaki overnight bag slung over her shoulder. "How are you, Callen?" Kensi asked when she entered the living room. Eric took the food container from her and she dropped her bag to the floor then walked over to Callen and gave him a hug. "I've missed you."

"I'm doing good, Kens," Callen said as he returned her embrace. "I've missed you too."

"You guys didn't already eat breakfast did you?" Kensi asked. "I have homemade omelets and there's plenty for you too if you want to stay, Eric."

"Uh…" Eric gave Kensi an apprehensive look. "Homemade? As in...you made them?"

"What if I did make them?" Kensi asked, looking insulted. "Are you implying that I can't cook?"

"No!" Eric shook his head vigorously. *"I mean...I was just wondering…" He looked toward Callen for help but the team leader just looked on in amusement.

"If you must know, Deeks made them," Kensi said.

"Oh, I'll be happy to stay," Eric said quickly. "I mean, even if you had made them I would have stayed."

"Hmm…" Kensi turned her attention to Callen and smiled sweetly at him. "I'm going to go heat these up in the microwave. Do you just want to eat here?"

Callen nodded. "Thanks, Kens...that sounds good."

Kensi took the food container and went off to the kitchen while Eric looked anxiously after her. "Do you think she's really mad at me?"

"I guess you'll find out if there's super hot sauce in your omelet," Callen said with a smirk.

Eric's eyes widened. "Hot sauce? I don't do well with that, Callen. I break out in hives from really strong spices. Maybe I should leave."

Callen started to laugh. "Come on, Eric. I'm just pulling your leg. She's not going to do anything to your food. It'll be fine. Relax."

"Okay," said Eric, but he still looked visibly nervous and he didn't really calm down until they had finished their breakfast. "I guess I'll get going. Is there anything either of you need before I go?"

"I'm good, Eric," Callen said. "Thanks for everything."

"No problem. You two have a good day."

"You too," Kensi said and with that, Eric headed out.

"You almost scared the life out of the poor guy," Callen laughed after Eric had left .

"Oh stop it, I did not."

"Yeah you did. He thought you were going to put hot sauce in his omelet and give him the allergic reaction from hell."

"You're lying," Kensi said, grinning back at Callen.

Callen shook his head. "I swear."

"I guess I'll call him later to apologize."

"I think he's over it," Callen said. "You should just pay more attention to your scary evil power in the future."

Kensi shook her head, but she was glad to see Callen in such good spirits. She had expected him to be more subdued or cranky. "So, what would you like to do today?"

Callen shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Whatever you'd like."

Kensi smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Really? Do you mean that?"

"Well...outside of running a marathon or something. I don't think I'm up for that."

"Oh no. Nothing like that. You can stay here, comfy on the couch, all day long." Kensi leaned down and grabbed her overnight bag from the floor and unzippered it. She then proceeded to pull out a stack of DVDs."

"Movies?" Callen asked. He was okay with that. Kensi probably wanted to watch some sniper movies or something like that. Maybe the Godfather. That would be good. He could easily spend the day watching those movies.

"T.V." Kensi stated as she looked around. "Oh...do you have a dvd player?"

Callen nodded as he pointed at the shelf underneath the t.v. "There's a blu-ray player down there. Sam gave it to me for my birthday last year. The remote is down there also."

"Perfect." Kensi smiled happily as she turned on the television then did the same with the blu-ray player and popped a dvd into it.

"So what are we watching?" Callen asked as he made himself comfortable and leaned into the back of the couch.

"You'll see," Kensi said. She sat down next to Callen, aimed the remote control and hit play. Moments later, music started playing and women were flashing across the screen.

"Wh...what is this?" Callen asked, looking more than a little bit appalled.

"It's  _America's Next Top Mode_ l!" Kensi said. "Deeks burned these all onto DVDs for me. I have all the seasons. We can binge watch all day long!"

"Deeks?" Callen asked. "Deeks did this?"

"He gave them to me for a gift and he adds on whenever there's a new season. I thought it was the most thoughtful idea," Kensi said. "He just does the sweetest things sometimes."

"Yeah...real sweet…" Callen thought about protesting. He was pretty sure Kensi would give in to him, but she looked so excited. He guessed it wouldn't kill him to watch it for one day...he hoped it wouldn't anyway.

xxxxx

"This girl is such a catty bitch, don't you think?" Kensi asked. When Callen didn't answer her, she turned to look at him and saw that he was fast asleep. "I guess Deeks was right...he said you wouldn't be able to get into this." She thought about finding something else for them to watch, but decided not to wake him, figuring he might not have been getting much sleep during the week. She had no idea how much pain he was in and assumed it wasn't something he would share. Instead, she went into the kitchen and got the lasagne out of the freezer to heat up for dinner. Hetty had told her that would be a good choice as it was one of Callen's favorites. After she preheated the oven and put the lasagne in, Kensi went back into the living room. She settled back down next to Callen and turned down the volume on the television. She thought about calling Deeks, but decided to wait until later and she resumed watching her show.

xxxxx

"Callen...wake up. It's time for dinner," Kensi said in a sing-song voice as she gently patted his shoulder.

Callen opened his eyes, yawned and stretched then looked at Kensi sleepily. "Hi...I guess I dozed off."

"You've been sleeping for hours," Kensi said. "I guess models aren't your thing."

"No. They were fine, really interesting," Callen protested. "I guess I was just tired."

"Really?" Kensi asked. "Who was your favorite one?"

"Uh…" Callen struggled to remember any part of the show, but he was at a loss. "Does Deeks like this show?"

Kensi smiled. "I don't think so, but he's really good at pretending."

"I guess those are the kinds of things you do for the one you love," Callen said, smiling.

"Watch t.v. shows you don't have any interest in?"

Callen nodded. "And movies too."

Kensi giggled. "That's true. Deeks loves musicals. I'll watch with him, but most of the time I can't stand them."

"You two are definitely meant for each other." They sat in companionable silence for a few moments until Callen sniffed the air appreciatively. "so, is that Hetty's homemade lasagne I smell?"

Kensi nodded. "She said you really like it."

"She's right about that," Callen said. "I'm starved."

"Me too," said Kensi. "Let's eat."


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning, Kensi," Nell called out softly as she came in through the front door. Kensi had called her cell phone a short while ago and told her to just come in and not ring the doorbell.

"Hi Nell," Kensi said from her seat on the couch as she smiled at the other woman. "Come in and sit down. Wow, I'm not used to seeing you dressed so casually during the week." Nell was wearing jeans and a loose-fitting plaid shirt with her hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"I didn't really think I needed to dress up for this," Nell said, smiling as she took a seat on the couch next to Kensi. So, Callen's still sleeping?"

Kensi nodded. "His sleep is all screwed up. He fell asleep during our America's Next Top Model marathon yesterday and I heard him up half the night because of it...or maybe he doesn't sleep at night. I don't know. He definitely slept during America's Next Top Model though."

Nell giggled. "That doesn't really surprise you, Kens, does it?"

Kensi smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. Deeks manages to stay awake for it."

"Because he's head over heels in love with you," Nell said. "I don't think Deeks and the boys would gather together for a Sunday afternoon of beer, pizza and America's Next Top Model."

Kensi shook her head. "Well, if there was a good NFL game on a Sunday afternoon, I wouldn't be watching it either. In any case, I'd just let Callen sleep. I'm going to head out now. I'm picking up Deeks so we can go into work together. You going to be okay here?"

"Of course," Nell said with a smile. "I brought my laptop to do a bit of work and I baked Callen some chocolate chip cookies."

"Well, he'll definitely like those," Kensi said. "I didn't bake him anything, but he probably appreciated that. In any case, I'll see you at work tomorrow. Have a good day."

"You too." Nell then settled herself on the sofa and pulled her laptop out of its case so she could get a little bit of work done before Callen awoke.

xxxxx

_Callen sat on the table in the examination room as he waited for his doctor. After a few minutes, the orthopedist came in carrying Callen's x-rays. "How's it going, Doc?" Callen asked, grinning at the doctor._

" _Good morning, Agent Callen," the doctor said looking at him solemnly. "I'm fine, thank you."_

" _So, am I healing up well?" Callen asked. "I know you said 8-12 weeks before I'm fully healed, but I'm hoping it's closer to 8 than 12."_

_The doctor sighed and was silent. Finally, Callen took note of this. "Ummm...is something wrong?"_

" _I'm afraid your leg isn't healing as we expected. As a matter of fact, this x-ray shows us that it's much worse than I originally thought…"_

" _So...what exactly are we talking, Doc?" Callen asked. "I'm guessing it's going to be 12 weeks and not 8?"_

_The doctor said nothing._

" _More than 12?" Callen asked nervously._

" _There's no easy way to say this," the doctor said. "Your leg is never going to properly heal. You'll be able to get around quite well with a cane or crutch, but you won't be able to run and you certainly won't be able to return to active field duty."_

_Callen shook his head, shocked by this revelation. "I...I won't even be able to walk normally? I...I can't go back to the field? Not ever? Can't you do more surgery to fix it? There's got to be something you can do."_

" _I'm sorry. There really isn't any surgery that can help your condition. A desk job will be fine for you," the doctor said. "Or, if you don't want a desk job, you have the option of retiring. I'm sure NCIS will be able to accomodate you nicely. After all, you were wounded on the job._

" _Retirement?" Callen stammered. "I...I can't retire now…"_

_Don't worry, Agent Callen. You'll be able to work this out. This could have been much worse. You were very lucky. You easily could have been killed."_

xxxxx

Nell cocked her head as she heard Callen calling out and sounding distressed from his room. She went over to the door and knocked. "Callen? Callen are you okay?" There was no answer and she cautiously edged the door open and saw Callen flailing about on the bed.

"Callen?" She went over to his bedside and called him again, louder this time. "CALLEN!"

Startled out of his disturbing dream, Callen opened his eyes and stared at her in confusion. "Nell? Where's…" He looked around the room wildly until he finally realized that he was home in his bedroom. He took some deep breaths, trying to slow his pounding heartbeat.

"Hey...are you okay?" Nell took a seat on the edge of his bed and gently rubbed his shoulder.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine Nell. Sorry," Callen said with a sheepish look. "Good morning, by the way."

"Good morning to you and don't have anything to be sorry about," Nell said softly. "Everyone has bad dreams sometimes."

"Yeah...yeah, I guess…"

"You feel like talking about it?" Nell asked. "You know I'm a good listener."

Callen shook his head. "No thanks, Nell. I...I don't even remember what it was about really."

"I see," Nell said gazing at him skeptically.

Callen could tell she didn't believe him, but he didn't elaborate any further.

"How about some breakfast then? I'm a pretty good cook if I do say so myself." Nell said with a smile.

"Sure...breakfast sounds great. Thanks."

"Okay. Any special requests?"

Callen shrugged. "No...make whatever you'd like, Nell. Don't go to a lot of trouble."

"Okay...let me know if you need help with anything." Nell got up from the bed and with one last look at Callen, left the room and headed out to the kitchen. Callen watched as she left and immediately his mind went back to the dream, wondering if there could possibly be any truth to it.

xxxxx

"What smells so good?" Callen asked with a smile as he crutched his way out into the kitchen.

"I thought I'd make some blueberry pancakes," Nell said, returning his smile. "Hetty mentioned that there were fresh blueberries in your refrigerator and she also said they were one of your favorites. Sit down. They're almost ready."

Callen did as she requested and took a seat at the table. There were two place settings along with two cups of tea and orange juice by each one. "This looks really nice. You didn't have to go to so much trouble though."

"It's really no trouble at all. I enjoy cooking." Nell came over with a plate stacked full of pancakes which she placed in the center of the table. "Help yourself. Do you have any syrup?"

"It's in the cabinet over near the refrigerator."

Nell went over to the cabinet and by standing on her tiptoes managed to reach the syrup. She then got some butter from the refrigerator and brought the items to the table.

"Sorry," Callen said, grinning at her. "I should have gotten the syrup."

"No worries," said Nell. "When you're my height, you learn how to accommodate for most things."

"You're definitely good at that," Callen said as he poured a generous amount of syrup on his stack of pancakes and put a forkful into his mouth. "And you're a really good cook too."

"Thank you," Nell said, looking pleased. "But if you think these are good, wait until you taste my homemade chocolate chip cookies later on."

"Really?" Callen asked, his eyes brightening. "I'm getting positively spoiled this week."

"Well, everyone deserves to be spoiled once in a while," Nell said, smiling. She knew quite a bit about his childhood years and was pretty sure he'd rarely been spoiled then, if at all. It made her happy if she could do anything to make his life a little bit easier now.

The two finished their breakfast, with Nell chatting about the goings on at the office and Callen mostly just listening. He was still preoccupied with the dream he'd had and even though part of him thought it was ridiculous to even be thinking about such a thing, the other part of him wondered if it was some kind of an ominous sign of things to come.

xxxxx

"So, what would you like to do today?" Nell asked after she had finished cleaning up the breakfast dishes.

Callen was sitting on the couch flicking through the channels on the t.v. set. "I don't know," he said. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"We could watch a movie I guess," Nell said. "I promise, no America's Next Top Model."

"You heard about that?" Callen asked with a smile. "Yeah...not my favorite show for sure."

"Well, what would you like to watch? You can choose. I'm not picky."

"What kind of movies do you like?" Callen asked. He didn't want Nell to get stuck watching something she hated.

"It really doesn't matter to me."

Callen went to the movies on demand channel and started scrolling through the choices. "Shout out if you see something you'd like."

The two watched as the seemingly endless choices went by, but neither of them were particularly inspired by any of them. Finally, Callen turned the t.v. off. "I have Eric's game system here if you want to play."

"Is that what you want to do?" Nell asked. She felt like she was failing in her mission to entertain him. She could tell he was bored out of his mind.

"Actually...I think I'm going to go rest for a while, if you don't mind," Callen said. His leg was throbbing pretty badly and he just wanted to lie down for a while.

"Of course I don't mind. Can I get you anything? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Nell," Callen said, forcing a smile. "I just didn't sleep very well last night."

"Okay...you know where I am if you need anything."

"I do," Callen said. "Thanks for everything. I'll see you a little later."

xxxxx

A short while after Callen had gone into his room, Nell took her cell phone out to the back of the house and called Hetty.

"Why hello, Ms. Jones," Hetty greeted her cheerfully on the other end of the line. "I didn't expect to hear from you today. How are things going with you and Mr. Callen?"

"Not so good, I'm afraid, Hetty," Nell said, taking care to speak softly. "Callen is so bored with me being here that he went back to bed."

"Oh, Nell, this has nothing at all to do with you," Hetty said. "I'm actually surprised it took him this long. He's cooped up and he's probably getting caught up inside his own head. He doesn't do well in this type of situation. Just do the best you can and know that you have nothing to do with whatever his mood or state of mind might be today."

"Alright...if you're sure," Nell said. She had thought it would be a lot easier than this and that she might be able to cheer Callen up. Unfortunately, she had been mistaken.

"Quite sure, dear," Hetty said. "Don't worry yourself about it and try to have a nice day in spite of this."

"Okay...I'll try," Nell said. "Thank you, Hetty."

"You're welcome."

xxxxx

After Hetty hung up the phone, she looked thoughtfully over at the bullpen where Kensi, Deeks and Sam were sitting at their desks and and laughing over something which had most likely been said by Mr. Deeks. She walked over to them. "Are we all working hard?" she asked.

"Very hard, Hetty," Sam replied, giving her his most charming smile.

"I just received a call from Ms. Jones," Hetty said.

Sam immediately turned serious. "Is G okay? Should I go over there?"

"Please calm down, Mr. Hanna," Hetty said. "I didn't say that anything was wrong. Your partner just isn't in the best of moods today." She turned her attention to Deeks. "Mr. Deeks, it's your turn to stay with him tomorrow. I think if you could take him out for a bit, that would help. Just take him for a drive, maybe go to lunch. Some fresh air and sunshine definitely couldn't hurt. I would have had Nell do it, but I'd rather someone physically stronger be with him, just in case…"

"Sure, Hetty, whatever you say," Deeks said. Any traces of the laughing he'd been doing just a couple of minutes ago were gone. Deeks still felt guilty over what had happened to Callen and now, knowing he wasn't doing well, it just made everything that much worse. As much as he wanted to help Callen, he couldn't say he was looking forward to the next day at all.

xxxxx

Callen dozed off for a bit, but when he awoke, he still stayed in his room. He knew he was being kind of a jerk to Nell, but he wasn't in the mood for socializing. He knew he had to get out there sooner or later though. It would be unspeakably rude if he didn't. Finally, he forced himself to get up out of bed, grabbed his crutches and made his way out into the living room. "Hey Nell." He smiled at her and sat down on the couch.

"Hi, Callen. Did you get some sleep?" Nell asked.

Callen nodded. "I did. Sorry about that. I'm feeling better now."

"You don't have anything to be sorry about. It's understandable that you'd be tired though. It's not even a week yet since your surgery."

"So, are you getting some work done?" he asked, his eyes on her laptop.

"I've just been helping Eric with a few things. Nothing too major."

"Will it disturb you if I turn on the t.v.?

"Not at all," Nell said, shaking her head.

Callen turned on the television and began scanning through the channels, stopping when he saw the Shawshank Redemption which was just beginning. "Have you seen this before?"

"I love this movie," Nell said.

"Me too."

"Would you like some lunch?" Nell asked.

"I think I'm still kind of full from breakfast. I ate a lot of those delicious pancakes you made. I wouldn't mind some of those cookies you mentioned earlier though," Callen said, smiling at her.

"I think that can definitely be arranged," Nell said, returning his smile. She then got up to go and get the cookies. When she returned, they settled down and spent the next couple of hours, munching on cookies and watching the movie, both of them much more at ease than they had been earlier.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey sleepy head," Nell smiled at Callen from the sofa and he crutched over to it and sat down beside her.

"Good morning, Nell," he said. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept very well. That's a very nice guest room you have."

"Well, Hetty can take most of the credit for that," Callen said. "Buying furniture and decorating isn't really my thing."

"Well, you really do have a lovely home here. A few little touches here and there and it could be quite cozy."

"Is that what I need? A cozy house?" Callen asked in amusement.

"Well, it might be nice to come home at night to a cozy house...maybe a little kitten to keep you company."

Callen started to laugh. "Have you been talking to Sam about this? You sound just like him. Trust me, Nell. I don't need a kitten or a puppy or a even a fluffy little bunny. I'm good by myself."

"It was just a thought," Nell said with a slight shrug.

"Come on, Nell, don't be sad...I'm fine, really I am. Plus you and the rest of the team have been taking such good care of me. I couldn't ask for more than that."

"I'm not sad, Callen. I just worry," Nell said. "It's just part of my nature."

Just then the doorbell rang and Nell quickly got up and made her way to the door. "Hi Deeks," she said, smiling at him as she led him into Callen's house.

"Good morning, Nellosaurus," Deeks said, returning her smile. He looked over at Callen and his smile faded a bit, but he managed to keep up appearances. "Hey, Callen. How are you feeling?"

"Hey Deeks, I'm good," Callen said. "How are you doing?"

"No complaints."

"I'm going to leave for work," Nell said. "Take care of yourself, Callen. You guys have a good day."

"Thanks for everything, Nell," Callen said earnestly. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem. You two behave yourself." She then headed out, leaving Deeks and Callen alone.

"So, you sure you're doing okay?" Deeks asked, his eyes fixed on Callen's casted leg. He forced himself to look away from it, knowing that it was only making him feel worse.

Callen nodded. "Yeah, just kind of tired. I want to take a shower so I may need a little bit of help."

"Sure, whatever you need...I was thinking, maybe later, we can get out of here, go grab some lunch somewhere."

"Yeah?" Callen's eyes brightened at the prospect of getting out of the house. "That sounds really good, Deeks. I'd love to get out of here for a while."

"You've got it then," Deeks said, glad that there was something he could do to make Callen feel at least a little bit better.

xxxxx

After Callen was showered and dressed, he settled himself back on the couch to rest for a bit. "Can I get you anything?" Deeks asked, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do.

"You can answer a question for me," Callen said, staring at Deeks, his eyes dead serious.

"Yeah?" Deeks sat on the sofa next to Callen and gave him a bit of a nervous glance. "What about?"

"I think you know…"

Deeks looked at Callen, then looked down at his hands which were clasped in his lap. He felt horrible and couldn't even look at Callen. "I'm really sorry, Callen."

"You should be sorry," Callen said. "I mean seriously,  _America's Next Top Model_? What the hell were you thinking?"

"Huh?" Deeks stared at Callen in total confusion.

"I would have never done that to you," Callen said with a put-on hurt look. "You could have talked her out of it. How can you even watch that?"

Deeks smirked at Callen. "Did you even try to watch it? I mean, some of those girls are pretty hot."

"Yes, I tried. Not my cup of tea. And I don't believe it's yours either."

Deeks shrugged, a smile touching his lips. "Believe what you want, G-man. All I'll say is Kensi is always very grateful when I sit down and spend an evening watching it with her. It is totally worth the effort."

Callen rolled his eyes and leaned his head back against the top of the couch. "Okay, Deeks. I don't need to hear anymore." He definitely didn't want to know what went on behind closed doors in Kensi and Deeks' relationship.

"You hungry?" Deeks asked. "I can make you some breakfast."

Callen shook his head and covered his mouth with his hand as he yawned. "No thanks. I'm not really hungry. Feel free to make yourself something though and there's a tin of cookies in the kitchen as well."

Deeks frowned as he looked at Callen. "Are you okay?

Callen nodded, suddenly feeling really sleepy. "Yeah, I'm fine, Deeks. Just kinda tired. Anyhow, I don't want to eat too much or I won't be hungry for lunch."

"Yeah, but...you didn't eat anything, did you?"

"Uh...I don't know…" Callen murmured right before dropping off.

Deeks couldn't help wondering what was up with that. Callen wasn't one to drop off in the middle of a conversation, but Kensi had said his sleep was messed up the other day. Maybe that was still the case. Deeks took his cell phone and went into the guest room and closed the door. He then dialed Kensi's number.

"Hey babe," Kensi answered, instantly putting a smile on Deeks' lips. "Are you already having trouble with Callen?"

"Actually, he fell asleep," Deeks said.

Kensi giggled. "Don't tell me you're already boring him. I got further with him than that."

"Yeah, he already blamed me for the whole  _America's Next Top Model_  thing," Deeks said with mock anger in his voice which only served to make Kensi giggle again.

"Oh you think that's funny do you?" Deeks asked with a grin.

"Oh I definitely do," Kensi replied.

"Alright...I'll let you get back to work...I just wanted to hear your voice, I guess."

"You're going to be fine, Deeks," Kensi told him. "Do what Hetty said, take him out for a while and it will all be good."

"Okay, babe...I love you."

"I love you too."

xxxxx

Callen slept for a full two hours and when he awoke, he saw Deeks sitting on the other end of the couch, doing something on his laptop. "Hey Callen, I thought you were down for the count," Deek said, glancing over at him. Callen was looking back at him, his eyes looking a little bit dazed.

"Hey man, what's wrong with you?" Deeks asked. "Are you alright?"

Callen nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You're not acting fine," Deeks said.

"Because I fell asleep?" Callen asked, looking incredulous. "Really?"

Deeks shrugged. "It's not your M.O. man."

Callen rolled his eyes. "Fine, if you must know, I took a pain pill early this morning. They tend to knock me out so I try not to take them too often, but I took one today so there you have it."

"Oh…" Deeks was silent for a long pause and then he looked back at Callen sympathetically. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

"It's not so bad," Callen said. "This morning it was just worse than usual and I needed a pill…" It wasn't something he was proud of, but his leg had been throbbing incessantly and he finally hadn't been able to stand it anymore. He'd taken a pill and it had eased the pain and helped him to go back to sleep.

"The doctor gave you the pills for a reason. It's nothing to be ashamed of…" Deeks could easily read the look in Callen's eyes.

"I'm not." Callen's answer was short and clipped and left no doubt in Deeks' mind that this topic of conversation was done with.

"Okaaaay…" Deeks glanced at the time on his laptop and saw that it was almost 11:30. "What time would you like to go out? Any time is good with me." He had thought he'd be having breakfast with Callen but when Callen had passed on breakfast, Deeks had settled for eating some of the delicious chocolate chip cookies in the tin.

"Whenever you'd like," Callen said with a shrug.

"Alright, if you're ready, let's just go now," Deeks said. Maybe getting out for a while would make Callen feel better. He was pretty sure it would make he, himself, feel better anyway.

Callen slowly made his way out to Deeks' SUV with Deeks keeping his eye on him to make sure he was okay. After both men were seatbelted inside, Deeks started the vehicle and they were off.

For a while, they were both quiet as they listened to the music on the radio, but Callen began to relax more as he looked out the window at the passing scenery and he finally spoke. "So, where are we headed?"

"I thought we'd head to Tessa's, this beachfront restaurant I know," Deeks said. "It's pretty quiet during the week and parking will be easy so you won't have far to walk. Not that it really matters. I can just drop you off at the door. I think there's a bench in front. Unless, did you have something particular in mind?"

Callen shook his head. "No, that sounds good to me." He was honestly just happy to be out of the house. He wasn't going to be picky about where they were going.

The drive was a picturesque one which was one of the reasons Deeks had chosen this particular restaurant. After about 45 minutes, they arrived at Tessa's. As Deeks had predicted, it was relatively quiet and he was able to park right near the front door.

A hostess approached them as soon as they entered the restaurant. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. Would you like to be seated inside or out on the patio?"

"Callen?" Deeks looked toward the other man, allowing him to make the decision.

"I don't know...it's a nice day. Patio?" he asked Deeks.

Deeks nodded, pleased with the decision. "Patio it is."

The hostess led the two men out to the patio and they were given a table in the corner overlooking the water. "This is really nice," Callen said, impressed with the view and glad they were eating outside. "Do you and Kensi come here?"

"Sometimes," Deeks said. "We're usually so busy though that we stay more local."

The waitress came over and took their drink orders and left a basket of hot rolls on the table. Callen suddenly found himself starving and he took one of the rolls and smeared it with a generous amount of butter. "Mmm…" he said after he had taken a bite. "These are good."

"They are good," Deeks said as he took one. "They make them onsite. They're kind of addictive though. It's hard to eat just one."

"That's good, because I wasn't planning on having just one," Callen said with a smile. His mood was drastically improved being outside. He almost felt normal again. "So what's good?" he asked, as he started to look through the menu.

"I've never had anything I haven't liked," Deeks said. "The steak tips are really good, the baked chicken, pasta dishes. Whatever you want, I'm pretty sure you'll like it."

"Steak tips sound good to me." Callen quickly made his decision.

"I think I might get those too," Deeks said. "All the salad dressings are also homemade, really good."

The two men placed their orders and were relatively quiet until Deeks finally decided he needed to give Callen his long overdue apology. "So…" he began as he nervously buttered another roll.

"Yeah?" Callen gave Deeks a curious look, noting that he looked much more serious than normal. "What's up?"

"I need to apologize to you for what happened…"

"For what happened?" Callen asked, giving Deeks a blank look. "What happened? What are you talking about?" He literally had no idea what the younger man was referring to.

Deeks sighed heavily. "For your broken leg, Callen."

Callen smirked. "What do you mean? You weren't driving the car. Is there something I don't know about? Did you hire the driver or something?"

"Of course not," Deeks said, still totally serious.

"So...I don't get it."

"I didn't warn you in time," Deeks said. "I saw the car coming straight at you and I didn't shout out fast enough. I didn't help you. I didn't push you out of the way or anything…"

"You couldn't have pushed me out of the way. You weren't even near me," Callen said, still not believing they were even having this conversation, but he could tell by Deeks' expression and the guilty look in his eyes that this was no joke. "And you warned me fast enough that I jumped up out of the way and the car only hit my leg and not my abdomen or chest. The guy wanted to kill me, Deeks. You likely saved my life."

Deeks shook his head. "I don't think so…"

"I don't think so either," Callen said. "I  _ **know**_  so. Seriously, Deeks. If I had even thought this was an issue for you, I would have talked to you when it happened. It wasn't your fault, not in any way."

"Really?" Deeks asked, still having a hard time believing it.

"Really. Come on man. We're supposed to be out having a good time. You shouldn't be beating yourself up for no reason. It's a broken leg. It's going to get better."

"You hate being laid up. I know you do."

Callen rolled his eyes. "Did you not hear me? You weren't driving the car. By the way, I'm guessing he hasn't been brought in yet?"

Deeks shook his head. "Not so far. He's gone with the wind." They had managed to track down the identity of the assailant from the agency the car had been rented from. It was, a guy Callen had sent to prison 10 years before who had just been released, Eddie Guthrey. The team was still actively trying to track him down, but so far hadn't had any luck.

Callen nodded, not particularly worried about Guthrey. "So can we end this now? No more guilt?"

"I guess…"

"Come on Deeks."

"Fine," Deeks said, a faint smile on his lips. "No more guilt."

The waitress came over to the table with their salads and Callen smiled at Deeks. "Good, now let's forget about my broken leg and enjoy our lunch."


End file.
